of youngstown



W. H. WARREN.

METAL CASTING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-8.1917.

1,336,768. Patented Apr- 13, 1920.

I 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES INVENTOR Maids/00 Mm W. H. WARREN.

M ETAL CASTING.

APPLlCATION FILED NOV. 8, 1917.

1,386,768. Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HOBART WARREN, OF YOUNGSTOIVN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE REALTY TRUST COMPANY AND ROLLIN C. STEESE, TRUSTEES, OF YDUNGSTOW'N, GHIIO.

METAL CASTING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Original application filed December 6, 1916, Serial No. 135,306. Divided and this-application filed November To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VILLIAM H. NVARREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, Mahoning county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Metal Casting, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawmgs, forming part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of apparatus for carrying out my method of casting.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the apparatus, and

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of one of the troughs.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 135,306, filed December 6, 1916. v

The invention relates to the art of metal casting, and more especially to a method of casting steel ingots, although the method in its broader aspects, is not so limited.

In casting steel ingots, it is advantageous to have the metal in the ladle at the high temperature at which it is tapped from the furnace. This keeps the metal in the ladle in a fluid well mixed condition and prevents excessive waste in forming a scull in the ladle. However, for the best casting of ingots the metal should be at a considerably lower temperature than that at which it is tapped from the furnace, and should be poured into the ingot molds slowly, so that the bottom of the ingot will freeze before the top is poured, and thereby minimize piping and other defects which occur when hotter metal is more rapidly poured into the ingot mold. In the preferred practice of the present method and as applied to casting steel ingots, the steel is tapped from the furnace into a casting ladle and immediately transferred to the ingot molds. The molten steel at high temperature is poured from the casting ladle and the stream of steel issuing from the castingladle is sub-divided into a plurality of smaller streams and exposed to the air sufficiently to cool the steel to the best casting temperature. The sub-division into smaller streams'of metal not only permits the more rapid cooling of the metal, but also permits a number of ingot molds to be poured at once. This permits the ladle to be emptied rapidly, but permits each ingot mold to be filled comparatively slowly. The

Serial No. 200,906.

pouring of the molten steel through the atmosphere a plurality of times in the subdivided streams also gives a maximum opportunity for the gases to escape from the hot metal. The illustrated apparatus for carrying out the method will now be described.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 2 designates a casting ladle of thebottom-pour type, having a single metal pouring nozzle 3. 4c designates a ladle carrier of any suitable or usual form and which may be suspended from an overhead crane, not shown. 5 designates an ingot mold car havin a plurality of ingot molds 6. 7 designates a trough which is supported between the nozzle 3 of the ladle 2, and S and 8 are two smaller or auxiliary troughs which are suspended one underneath each end portion of the main trough 7. The trough 7 has a bottom-pour nozzle 9 at each end and each of the troughs 8 has a bottompour nozzle 10 at each end.

The main trough 7 may be attached to the ladle 2 in various ways. In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown it as having a rigidly projecting lever arm 11, which is arranged to fulcrum and also to turn somewhat, in a stirrup 12 hung on an arm 13 which is detachably engaged with a bracket 14 on the ladle 2. The outer end of the lever arm 11 has a handle projection 15 extending at substantially right angles, and is also provided with a bearing in the oblique brace member 16. Each of the troughs 8 may be conveniently suspended from the trough 7 by means of the links 17 which engage open hooks 18 on the trough 7. Each trough S is also preferably provided with a laterally extending arm 19 having an actuating handle 20 extending at substantially right angles thereto.

The ladle 2 is filled with steel tapped from the furnace and at substantially the furnace temperature. The ladle is immediately swung over the ingot molds 6. The hot metal, still at substantially the furnace temperature, is discharged from the nozzle 3 of the ladle 2 into the main trough 7. For convenience this stream may be spoken of as the primary stream of metal. lVhen the trough 7 is in a substantially horizontal-position, the primary stream of metal discharged therein is sub-divided into two secondary streams which issue from the trough 7 through its two nozzles 9. These two secondary streams are discharged in turn into the auxiliary troughs 8. The auxiliary troughs 8 in turn sub-divide the metal stream into four streams flowing into the ingot molds through the four nozzles 10 of the troughs 8. For convenience these four streams may be termed tertiary streams.

The above described apparatus permits each of the ingot molds or flasks 6 to be filled at approximately one-fourth of the rate of flow of the metal through the pouring nozzle 3 of the casting ladle 2. The metal, in flowing from the ladle 2 to the molds 6, is exposed to the air in seven streams; one primary stream from the ladle 2 to the main trough 7, two secondary streams from the main trough 7 to the auxiliary troughs 8, and four tertiary streams from the auxiliary troughs 8 to the ingot molds 6. Thus, the metal in flowing from the ladle to any one of the ingot molds is exposed to the air. in three successive streams of successively diminishing volume, the last streams from the troughs to the molds being smaller and exposing a comparatively greater cooling surface to the air than the larger stream from the ladle to the main trough. This facilitates the escape of the gases from the hot metal, it cools the metal to the proper casting temperature, and per mits the cooled metal to be poured slowly into each ingot mold. This eliminates, to great extent, piping, segregation and blowholes or honey-combing.

By means of the lever arm 11 the trough -7 may be rapidly tipped toward either end so as to concentrate its discharge through either one of the nozzles 9. In like manner by means of the lever arms 19, either one or both of the troughs 8 may be tipped. In this manner, either 2, 8 or 4: of the ingot molds or flasks may be simultaneously filled. Instead, however, of tipping the several troughs sufficiently to concentrate the discharge at either end portion thereof, the troughs may be tipped to a less extent, thus giving a different rate of pour into thedifferent molds. This permits molds of different sizes to be poured simultaneously.

While I have described the preferred manner of practising my invention, and have described it with particular reference to the pouring of steel ingots, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited, but may be carried out in other methods within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of casting metal which consists in sub-dividing a stream of molten metal at a temperature considerably higher than the proper casting temperature and exposing the sub-divided stream to the atmosphere suflieiently to cool it to the proper casting temperature, then filling a plurality of molds simultaneously with the thus subdivided and cooled stream of molten metal and controlling the relative rates of flow of the subdivided streams, substantially as described.

2. The method of casting metal which consists in filling a casting ladle with molten metal tapped from a furnace at substantially the furnace temperature, pouring the molten metal from the ladle in a single stream, sub-dividing the stream poured from the ladle and exposing it to the air sufliciently to cool it to the proper casting temperature, then filling a plurality of molds simultaneously with the thus sub-divided and cooled stream of molten metal and varying the disposition of the mass of metal coming from the ladle with respect to the subdivided streams to thereby control the rate of flow of such streams, substantially as described.

3. The method of casting metal, which consists in flowing the molten metal from a casting ladle into a distributing vessel having a plurality of outlets, and controlling the disposition of the mass of metal in said vessel with respect to the different outlets to thereby control the rate of flow through such outlets, substantially as described.

4. The method of casting metal which consists in sub-dividing a primary stream of molten metal into a plurality of second ary streams, subdividing the secondary streams into a plurality of tertiary streams, exposing the thus subdivided streams of metal to the atmosphere, and filling a plu rality of molds simultaneously with the streams of metal thus sub-divided and exposed to the atmosphere, substantially as described.

5. The method of casting metal which consists in filling a casting ladle or the like with metal tapped from the furnace at substantially the furnace temperature, quickly transferring the ladle from the furnace to the molds, pouring the metal from the ladle into a plurality of molds and exposing the metal, as it goes from the ladle to the molds, to the atmosphere in sufiiciently small streams to-cool the metal to the proper casting temperature and permit each mold to be filled comparatively slowly while controlling the relative rates of flow of the different streams, substantially as described.

6. The method of casting steel ingots which consists in sub-dividing a primary stream of steel poured at substantially the temperature at which it is tapped from the furnace into a plurality of secondary streams, sub-dividing the secondary streams into a plurality of tertiary streams, exposing the thus sub-divided stream of metal to the atmosphere sufliciently to cool it to the proper casting temperature, and then filling a plurality of molds simultaneously with the thus sub-divided and cooled stream of discharging the tertiary streams through molten steel, substantially as described. the atmosphere, whereby the steel is cooled 7. The method of casting steel ingots and the gases permitted to escape therefrom,

Which consists in pouring a primary stream and directing the thus sub-divided and 5 of hot steel from a casting ladle or the like, cooled stream of steel into a plurality of 15 sub-dividing the primary stream into a'pluingot molds, substantially as described. rality of secondary streams and discharging In testimony whereof I have hereunto set such secondary streams through the atmosmy hand. phere, sub-dividing the secondary streams to into a plurality or tertiary streams and WVILLIAM HOBART WARREN. 

